Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Craigslist sues eBay for UCL violations

On May 14, 2008, the Recorder reported on a new UCL competitor action filed by Craigslist against eBay. Zusha Elinson, "Craigslist Fires Back at eBay," The Recorder (May 14, 2008) (subscription). The complaint, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on May 13, 2008, is very detailed and quite interesting. It separately alleges violations of the "unlawful" and "unfair" prongs, and asserts violations of certain common-law rules (as well as various statutes) as the basis for the "unlawful" prong claim. Complaint at pp. 15-19. It correctly alleges the post-Cel-Tech formulation of the "unfair" prong (which governs competitor actions). Id. at 16-17.

On May 19, 2008, the Daily Journal reported that "Craigslist and eBay Vie for Edge in Venue" (subscription). The Daily Journal article reports that by the time Craiglist filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court (on May 13), eBay had already sued Craigslist in Delaware Chancery Court (on April 30). "'It's a corporate blood war,' said Fred Lambert, a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law who is an expert on corporations and securities law."